What can we learn from case studies? Plenty!
While Genentech sponsored a risk management initiative a couple years ago to improve risk identification, analysis, and planning, the results still appeared spotty in terms of widespread application by its project teams,. But that didn’t stop senior project manager Melanie Ebojo. With her experience in managing cross-functional project teams and global collaborations from late stage research through early stage clinical trials, Melanie applied the concepts. Along the way she developed strategies for success and leads a discussion about elements of risk management that are universal vs. those that are unique to the biotech/pharma industry.
With a new CIO and several key managers coming into the organization over the last several years, the time appeared right for Symantec to address challenges to support its phenomenal growth. Darin Danforth and his global team created a Center of Excellence for Project Management, an organization focused on maximizing the return on project investment through delivery execution of the IT portfolio. Being on a fast path to mature project management resources, practices, controls and processes, they place a focused effort on increasing PM skills, enhancing project initiation activities, and driving the importance of portfolio performance. Learn how these efforts contribute to significant operational and financial improvement in project performance.
As a Capability Owner in Intel’s Corporate Platform Office, Esteri Hinman is helping to make great Intel platforms…better! She is one of a team of change agents charting a path towards higher maturity, including disciplines around portfolio management, decision support, product life cycle management, and traditional program management functions such as resources, risk, and schedule. The team primarily uses a bottoms-up approach to lead changes based on adding business value. Esteri addresses not only the mechanics of how these changes are being moved into the Intel environment, but also the team’s biggest challenge: the cultural transformation: and requisite patience: required to get adoption of improved practices to meet ever evolving business needs across geographically dispersed virtual teams.
These managers and their case studies…and more…were specially selected to stimulate learning from each other at the PMI NorCal Symposium 2008 at Stanford University on September 4th.
Be inspired: be challenged: transform!
Randy Englund, Englund Project Management Consultancy, www.englundpmc.com
I fully agree with Josh’s comments, and I also encourage project managers to use a nice sentence that helps me think before moving to action. That sentence is “You could be my teacher.”
I agree completely that case studies can be one of the most effective ways to learn.
When I was in school, there was an attribute of case studies that I developed the habit of looking for. Some case studies are written through rose-colored glasses, or from an external point of view which really makes the whole thing a gloss-over and not extremely useful.
That is why these particular case studies look like they would be extremely valuable. These are presented by the people who were there, and I’d wager a guess they will be more open with their mistakes and setbacks than some case studies I’ve seen.
Josh Nankivel
http://www.pmStudent.com